Chapter 11
Tobias
I lean my head back against the side of the tour bus, staring at the star-flecked sky overhead, thinking about just how close Sebastian’s mate came to death this evening. She was so weak, so far gone, that I almost couldn’t save her. I’d almost been too late.
Sebastian would have never forgiven me.
Dread creeps up my spine as I consider the alternatives, what would have happened if I hadn’t made it there when I did. It’s a grim prospect, and I don’t know if my energy will be enough to save her next time.
The half-demon baby inside of her is powerful, more so than it has any right to be. I’m now fully convinced that it will take her life; it’s only a matter of time. And, somehow, even though it shouldn’t be possible, I feel even more sympathy for Sebastian.
What a horrible way to lose your mate.
I don’t think I could ever look at my child without resentment if that happened, which is why it never will. Human mates are far too delicate, too much trouble, to deal with. I’d never bond with one, much less procreate.
No, if I decide to take a mate, I’ll make sure she’s a succubus or another type of demon. As long as she isn’t a mortal.
The sound of a door closing makes my head snap to the side, and I watch Niki’s friend round the end of our tour bus.
Her head is down, her arms crossed over her chest as she heads across the parking lot, but she doesn’t appear to be in a hurry.
She walks slowly, deliberately, like she’s counting exactly how many steps there are between her and the bus.
Where the hell is she going?
I shouldn’t care. I don’t.
But it’s late, and the streetlights don’t quite illuminate the parking lot. Long shadows fall over her like reaching limbs as she leaves the tour buses behind, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her fading figure.
She’s important to Niki and, by extension, Sebastian.
And by some even further extension, the band.
I groan.
This was not what I had in mind when I told Acherith I would do whatever it took to keep everyone safe, and I’m already regretting it as I shove away from the bus and fall into step behind her.
I could follow her, leaving enough distance that she won’t even know I’m there; that’s probably better for us both. Much less of a headache.
But those damned shadows are getting longer and darker as she gets farther away, swallowing her. If anything happens to her, I’ll never hear the end of it.
With a grumble, I pick up the pace.
“Hey!” I call, realizing I’ve forgotten the woman’s name. It wasn’t important enough to remember at the time. “Wait!”
She turns to look back over her shoulder, rolls her eyes, and keeps walking. I’m not sure why I expected anything else.
I break into a jog, each of my long steps eating the ground between us until I catch up. When she looks at me, her brows are pinched together, her lips pursed.
“Can I help you?” she asks, finally stopping at the edge of the parking lot. There’s a sidewalk a few feet away that leads deeper into downtown, but I can’t tell which direction she was heading.
“No.”
She narrows her eyes. “So you just wanted to come harass me?”
Why did I come after her again?
Oh, right. Because I gave Sebastian my word, and if anything happens to this brat, it’ll be on my head since I was the last person to see her.
“I’m making sure you don’t get into trouble,” I grit out.
She scoffs a laugh. “I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own, thanks.” Then she turns and does just that.
Jaw tensing, I follow, staying just behind her and to the left.
“I’m sure you are. It’s not you I don’t trust,” I say, keeping my voice low as my eyes jump to the shadows lingering around the edges of the building up ahead. I don’t sense any dark demon magic, but that doesn’t mean a hellbeast can’t pop out of nowhere.
It’s happened before. Many times.
“Oh, so now you care?” She barks a laugh. “Your attitude is giving me whiplash.”
My eyes cut over in her direction, and I mentally trace the outline of her face. Her eyes are locked straight ahead, her lips still pursed in a way that I can tell she’s annoyed. Good. That makes two of us.
“I’m just saying, it’s late. It’s dark.” I hesitate. “There’s no telling what kind of creeps are out at this time of night, waiting to get you alone.”
“Like you?” When she looks over at me, a spark of rage flickers in my chest. Is she really accusing me of being a creep when I’m trying to keep her safe?
“Don’t worry that pretty head, sweetheart.” My jaw clenches, and I drag my eyes away from her. “If I wanted to be a problem for you, I would have by now.”
A stretch of silence falls between us, our soft footsteps lost to the sounds of the city. After a long moment, she asks, “Are you going to walk me all the way to my hotel, then?”
“If that’s what it takes.” I kick a pebble out of my way and into the road. “It would just put my conscience at ease if I knew you made it safe.”
“You have a conscience?” She presses a hand to her chest, feigning surprise. “Who would have thought?”
A growl rumbles in my throat as my annoyance skyrockets. “Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are.”
I jumped down Sebastian’s throat for his stupid ideas, but following this woman has to be my dumbest one ever. It’s like we’re competing for some sort of dumbass award and I, unfortunately, am now in the running.
Fucking hell. As we walk in silence, I remind myself over and over why I’m even doing it.
For Sebastian.
For Niki.
For my goddamn conscience that deserves to die a slow, gruesome death.
I want to turn around, to head back to my tour bus and crawl into bed for the night, but I’m making sure this stubborn human gets to her hotel room, or wherever she’s headed, without getting herself hurt or killed.
For several minutes, neither of us says anything, which is fine by me. I’m already annoyed and don't feel like arguing.
“What did you say your name was?” I don’t really care what her name is, but I’m tired of not remembering.
“Does it matter?” she snaps. “You’d probably prefer to call me a bitch again.”
I suck my teeth. I guess I did do that, but it wasn’t unwarranted. “You can call me asshole to keep it even, then.”
A beat of silence, and then she groans. “It’s Joseline. Jos. Whatever.”
“I’m—”
She cuts me off. “An asshole?
I chuckle dryly. I guess I walked into that one.
More stuffy silence settles between us as we cross at a crosswalk. I have no idea where she’s leading me, and I’m not inclined to ask. It wouldn’t matter either way; she’s stuck with me until she reaches her destination.
“Thank you,” she says out of nowhere, and my steps nearly falter. Did she suddenly change her mind about me walking her to her hotel room? Is she thanking me for it? “For helping Niki.”
Oh. Of course.
Based on her lack of follow-up questions, she has to know how I helped her. I’m sure Niki or Sebastian explained afterward. Right?
Is she aware that she’s in the company of a demon? Or does she just not care? If she knows, why the hell is she acting so… normal?
Shouldn’t she be running away screaming? Telling me to get the fuck away from her?
My stomach tightens at the thought.
She’s speaking again before I realize it, her voice low. “Did giving her energy leave you weak?”
My head snaps in her direction. What a bizarre question. And she asked it as simply as if she was asking the time.
I stare at her through the holes of my mask, blinking.
“What?” she snaps.
“Of all the questions you could possibly ask, that’s the one you have?” I shake my head. She’s far too calm. Maybe she’s actually insane. Maybe she freaked out and screamed and cried when they explained it on the tour bus.
That has to be it…
There’s no way a human finding out about energy-sucking demons is this calm.
“I didn’t realize there was demon protocol, sorry.” She rolls her eyes and walks faster, attempting to put space between us.
“Shhh! Are you crazy?” I mutter, hurrying to match her pace. “You can’t just go throwing that word around. Surely, Sebastian warned you.”
She gestures widely to the empty street as her feet keep pounding the sidewalk. “You’re right. All these people could definitely overhear us. My bad.”
Anger sparks in my chest, flaring through me, and I grab her arm, spinning her around. With the momentum, she nearly slams into me. Her breath stutters as her eyes climb up to meet mine, and electricity zips through me.
“Hands off.” She shakes her arm out of my hold but doesn’t attempt to move, staring me down instead. Gods, she’s so full of wicked fire and incredible at pushing my buttons.
I hate her.
“I will not let you risk my freedom because of your carelessness,” I growl out, my voice low and gravelly. “And I cannot protect you if you insist on being so fucking combative. For everyone’s safety could you attempt to follow our rules?”
I trace her features mentally, my eyes falling to her plump lips that press into a firm line.
Her curvaceous body is attractive, there’s no doubt about that, but what I admire even more is the fire in her eyes as she attempts to stare into my soul.
Any other woman would have crumbled by now, but she’s impossibly steadfast and hopelessly stubborn.
Fucking trouble, that’s what she is.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her expression unwavering.
“Again.”
She hesitates, her gaze only intensifying. “I’m. Sorry.”
I chuckle, amused, and reach up to nudge her chin with my knuckle. “Good girl.”
“Fuck you.”
She whirls around and keeps walking, her hips swaying with every step, and a smirk lifts the corner of my mouth. Again, I follow along behind her.
We cross the street again and make a right without a word, and I’m almost convinced we’re going to walk the rest of the way in silence, but she speaks up again. “You never answered.”
It takes me a few seconds to remember what the question was. I don’t particularly want to get into the logistics of demon magic out here, but I figure it can’t hurt to answer. “Yes, giving someone energy weakens us.”
“Why did you do it then?”
“Why did I save her?” I jump in front of her to stop her again, ignoring her huff that follows. “Would you rather I let her die?”
“Of course not!” She raises her voice, and heat stirs in my chest. I hate how much I enjoy getting under her skin. “But you could have. How does saving her benefit you?”
“I care about Sebastian,” I snap. “We’re as close as two… people… can be in this situation. I’d do anything for him, including saving his mate, so that’s what I did.”
Her next words are like a lightning bolt to my system. “But aren’t you just prolonging the inevitable?”
“I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that.” My voice drops again. “I’ll do anything in my power to help her, but I can’t promise it’ll be enough.”
She nods slowly, absorbing my words. “I’ve always been there for her. I’ll do anything to help her, anything for this baby, but in this… I’m powerless. I have to trust that you and Sebastian will do everything you can to save her, even if it winds up not being enough.”
Anxious energy blooms off her, wrapping around me, drawing me in, but I try to ignore it. It’s the first crack I’ve seen in the strong, confident energy she normally exudes.
“I said I’ll do everything I can, and I mean that,” I say slowly, emphasizing each of my words. “You have my word.”
She chuckles dryly. “Forgive me for not trusting you exactly.”
I move so close to her that her chest bumps mine, and the smell of her floral body spray tickles my nose.
“I’m far from a good man,” I say, keeping my voice low as I stare down into her dark brown eyes.
They’re nearly black in the dim light. Even though she's never seen my face, I've never felt more exposed, and I fucking hate it, but I’m here now. I might as well say what’s on my mind.
“Demon words are binding, which you’ll find out if you stick around.
I will protect your friend any way I can. ”
The tension that swells between us is thick enough to slice with my claws, and it gets harder to stuff air into my lungs. The way she’s staring at me, like she’s tearing me apart, analyzing the contents of my damned soul, makes me want to turn and walk away. To put distance between us.
But all I can do is stand here, sharing the same breath with her as she picks me apart bit by bit.
After a long moment, she nods and keeps walking.